New Jersey Teacher Sick Over Hostile Work Environment
November 8, 2019
A high school math teacher filed a lawsuit against the Bergen County school district due to allegations of discrimination and retaliation. The victim initiated the lawsuit due to claims of a hostile work environment. According to the victim, her volatile relationship with a supervisor led her to experience anxiety and other medical issues.
In the lawsuit, the victim noted that her supervisor had an aggressive disposition toward her. According to the victim’s accounts, the supervisor yelled at her in front of students and gave her an undeserved poor performance review. She noted that she did not receive constructive criticism, but rather unprofessional comments regarding her teaching ability.
The victim reported the incident to the school’s superintendent. However, this did not help the problem. Instead, the victim faced worse treatment from the supervisor as a result of the reports. She claimed that her supervisor put herself within inches of the victim’s face and taunted her after she reported the incident.
The victim later received poor treatment from the school’s principal. The principal yelled at the victim for failing to resolve the tense relationship with her supervisor. According to the victim, she experienced health issues due to the principal’s threatening behavior. She later faced discrimination for taking days off for her health, even though she did not exceed the amount of allowed absences. Due to the backlash against the victim, she developed health issues, including insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety, high blood pressure, and ocular rosacea.
What is Discrimination?
When a worker is treated unfairly due to their age, sex, race, sexual orientation, or religion, it is considered discrimination. Common forms of discrimination include:
- Denying disability leave
- Denying maternity leave
- Showing favoritism to one demographic in promotions
- Refusing to hire a candidate due to their age, sex, race, etc.
- Making inappropriate comments about an employee’s age, sex, race, etc.
These are a few examples of discrimination at work. Employees should take note of the different ways discrimination can occur. This allows workers to report incidents that happen to themselves or others.
What is Employment Retaliation?
When an employee is ostracized, fired, or disciplined for reporting an incident at work, it is considered retaliation.
Common forms of retaliation include:
- Being fired for filing a report or lawsuit
- Being fired for participating in a workplace investigation
- Getting undeserved poor performance reviews after filing a report
- Being fired or demoted after declining sexual advances
These are only a few examples of retaliation. Retaliation against a worker is particularly harmful, especially because it discourages others from coming forward. If a worker is discriminated or retaliated against, they are encouraged to contact an employment lawyer to obtain justice.
Cherry Hill Employment Lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates, P.C. Advocate for Employees’ Rights
If you or a loved one work in a hostile environment, please consider contacting a Cherry Hill employment lawyer at Sidney L. Gold & Associates, P.C. If you are interested in speaking to an employment lawyer, contact us online or call us at 215-569-1999 for a free consultation. With offices in Pennsauken, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients throughout South Jersey, including Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Marlton, Moorestown, and Mount Laurel.
